Museum Parc, a mixed-use project to create a campus around The Newark Museum of Art, will include 250 new apartments and commercial space, a 4,000-square-foot art and program gallery and new public and resident amenities. — Rendering by KSS Architects/Courtesy: Newark Museum/L+M Development Partners
By Joshua Burd
A development team has closed on $94 million in financing for a plan to bring 250 apartments, retail space and a new gallery to the Newark Museum of Art’s campus on Central Avenue.
The partnership, LMXD, MCI Collective and the Newark Museum, are planning a 2027 delivery for what will be known as Museum Parc, which will span two buildings between Washington Street and University Avenue. They include structures of six and 12 stories that will house the rental units, 20 percent of which are designated for lower-income renters, as well as the new 4,120-square-foot gallery and 2,300 square feet of ground-floor retail space under a plan to improve the presence of and connectivity to the Newark Museum of Art.
The newly announced financing is part of a series of public and private funding sources that include Merchants Capital, the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program and common equity.
“Museum Parc will help anchor the Newark Arts & Education District by providing much-needed mixed-income rental housing, the expansion of the Newark Museum of Art, and ground-floor retail to activate the streetscape,” said Jake Pine, a managing director at LMXD, the L+M Development Partners affiliate. “The Museum has been an incredible partner, sharing our vision for this site and helping turn it into a reality.”
The institution announced in late 2021 that it had tapped LMXD to spearhead the mixed-use project, seeking to create a walkable destination around its Washington Street location. Stakeholders also said the plan will enhance the public’s visibility of the museum and create a direct entryway to areas that are currently confusing and cumbersome to reach.
According to the developers, the six-story building along Central Avenue will have some 5,500 square feet of ground-floor amenity space that includes a fitness center, coworking space, a lobby and bicycle room. The ground floor of the 12-story building on the corner of University and Central avenues will have another 5,000 square feet of common areas such as a game room, a lounge and speakeasy, as well as a 3,000-square-foot roof terrace accessed through the garden room and commercial kitchen area.
Of the 250 apartments, 45 will be reserved for households earning 50 percent of the area median income, while another five will be for those earning 30 percent of AMI.
“Museum Parc is a testament to the strength and creativity of the Newark ecosystem and how we can reimagine our anchor cultural institutions, like the Newark Museum,” said Siree Morris, owner of MCI Collective.
Financing sources include a $62 million construction loan from Merchants Bank, which is also providing $58 million in Freddie Mac future permanent financing. The project will also use $15 million in Low-Income Housing Tax Credits through Red Stone Equity, plus $17 million in common equity provided by MSquared, LMXD and MCI Collective and additional financing from the city of Newark and Low-Income Housing Tax Credits issued by the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency.
Newark Museum taps L+M for 250 apartments, retail space in $85 million arts campus project
